The Future of Wearable Computing

by Da'Von B.

The new year is shaping up to be an interesting one, where the idea of wearable computing will invade the consumer market and there have been some interesting theories of what companies will or could produce. The first being Apple and it’s rumored iWatch.

In the event that Apple is actually making a smartwatch there’s a significant chance this will be a complementary device. There have been a wide range of articles suggesting Siri integration and facetime, and it’s probable that this is simply too much to ask for a first time to market potentially complementary type device. Then again, maybe Jony Ive and his design teams both human interface and industrial have developed something that will undoubtedly shock everyone making this a must-have device for 2013.

This is a device that could include a lot of internal pieces and radios so the heft, size, and design will be something to see…if this is a device that has WiFi, Bluetooth, Front Facing camera, Display, 2-4GB of storage, and Battery…once again that’s a lot to expect in a new device but we’ll see…in the event that this thing is real.

So what exactly could this smartwatch do? Logically this is a device that would connect to your iPhone/iPad, potentially stream incoming messages, track walking/running/calories, weather, video(?), incoming/missed calls & voicemails, and Siri is a strong possibility. Basically combine the aspect of the Pebble Smartwatch with the Nike FuelBand add in Siri and a few other niceties and you have the iWatch. What would be interesting is if Apple provided some type of limited SDK for the smartwatch but it’s unlikely.

And what if Google put together something similar? The people over at The Next Web posed this question and came up with interesting and beautiful designs of a potential Google Watch. Implementing Google’s services into a smartwatch utilizing their impressive UI/UX design skills as of late would make this into a must have device as well. It’s possible that in order to truly utilize the watch one would have to implement their Google+ credentials (if the iWatch is indeed real one would postulate you’d have to enter your iCloud credentials as well), so you have access to all Google services available.

This is all hypothetical to an extent because these devices are based on rumors, fantasy, and wishful thinking, aside from this GPS watch by a few ex-Nokia employees. There is another wearable computing device that will actually be released later this year by Google known as Project Glass. This video should give many an idea of how Project Glass will play a part in the lives of possibly many.

Essentially Project Glass will go to developers first, and upon viewing the potential use-case of Project Glass the questions of a person’s safety will immediately come into play. It’s possible after using the device for some time there may not be too much of an issue, however only time will tell, as it’s possible that Project Glass could be reminiscent of the Segway in terms of consumer adoption, but that’s unlikely.

Throughout 2012 there has been an emergence of devices such as the Fitbit, UP by Jawbone, Nike FuelBand and a plethora of wearable devices to monitor one’s activities. All of this was essentially a pre-cursor of what was to come, wearable computers that provide us with information moving consumers away from the habit constantly checking one’s smartphone to constantly checking one’s wrist or Project Glass lens. Essentially this isn’t all a fad or something that’s temporary, this is all something that will improve and increase in its efficiency to provide us with the information we want when we want it.

2 Comments to “The Future of Wearable Computing”

The introduction of the iwatch would essentially change the pace of interactive electronics as we know it. This product would give us unlimited access at all times to all devices, all messages, networks, everything no matter what. We would have an unlimited supply of ways to communicate. I look forward to being able to leave the phone at home when I go for a workout! Bc my messages, and music would be available for me on the iwatch. But again, as noted by the post, this is all wishful thinking about a device we are not sure is actually in production.